Beaches and coast of North Cyprus: protected areas, turtle season and what to check

How to read this page

Beach information in North Cyprus is scattered and often undated. We separated what an official source states from what only commercial blogs say. Entry fees, opening hours, lifeguard cover, blue-flag status and exact entrance coordinates fall in the second group, so we leave them out. Check on site, and never rely on a village name as proof that a swimmable beach exists there.

Protected coastal areas

Sea turtle season and the rules

The Environment Protection Department gives May to October as the nesting season. Nests are laid from May to mid-July and hatch after about two months; hatchlings head for the sea at first light. In 2024 the first Karpaz nest was recorded on 11 May and the last on 14 August; 1,726 of 1,834 nests were green turtle and 20 loggerhead, the rest of undetermined species.

The Department's season rules include:

• no umbrellas or digging within 35 m of the sea;
• no vehicles on the beach and no boats above 5 miles an hour within one mile of the shore;
• shield or switch off lights visible from the beach and do not walk the beach at night with a torch;
• leave no belongings or rubbish, keep dogs under control, and light no fires.

These rules are from the 2024 notice; confirm the current ones locally. For the night turtle watch at Alagadi, follow the operator's current announcement: we do not publish times or booking terms because we could not verify them.

Famagusta, Salamis and Varosha

Glapsides (Silver Beach), north of Famagusta, is run by Famagusta Municipality according to Visit NCY. Salamis lies north of the city; the ruins and the beach are separate, and we could not verify which stretches are public.

Varosha (Maraş), dated and neutral. Varosha is de jure Cyprus territory under North Cyprus control. UN Security Council Resolution 550 (11 May 1984) called settlement of Varosha by anyone other than its inhabitants inadmissible. On 6 October 2020 the Turkish Cypriot leadership, with Turkey, announced that the coast would open to the public on 8 October 2020, a step the Republic of Cyprus opposed. On 23 July 2021 the Security Council's presidential statement repeated the inadmissibility position. Cyprus Mail (13 October 2026) reports that parts are open to visitors through marked streets, entry is free, and crossing fences or entering abandoned buildings is forbidden. Opening hours differ between sources, so we give none.

Karpaz: Dipkarpaz, Ayfilon and Golden Beach

Ayfilon beach, about 2 km north of Dipkarpaz according to Wikipedia's Rizokarpaso article, is described as a municipal public beach; in 2024 it was the beach with the most turtle nests. Golden Beach (Altınkum) lies about 20 km east of Dipkarpaz and is roughly 4 km long (both figures from Wikipedia's Rizokarpaso and Golden Beach articles); according to Visit NCY it has no facilities; Wikipedia states that camping is strictly forbidden. Bring water and take everything away with you. Both lie inside the protected area, so the turtle rules above apply.

Water quality and what is missing

• Water quality: the Environment Protection Department published sea-water results in July and August 2024. We found no 2025-2026 results, so we state no current water-quality claim for any beach.
• Blue flags: we found no source for any North Cyprus beach and make no blue-flag claim.
• West coast (Kyrenia to Lapta) and Güzelyurt bay: we could not verify fees, hours or lifeguards, and found no authoritative sea measurement for the Güzelyurt bay and Lefke coast, so we make no safety or cleanliness claim there.
• Not covered yet: Esentepe, Bahçeli, Ötüken, Kumyalı, Balalan and Mehmetçik, where we found no beach source.

If you are also looking at property

Protected coastal land is built under special rules. Before you consider a coastal plot or home, check the planning and protection status of the exact parcel with an independent lawyer; a beach nearby does not tell you what may be built. NORTHEA has no commercial arrangement with any beach club or hotel, and we publish no yield or price-growth claim for coastal property.